Lightning's Little Literature
by lightningstrxu
Summary: A series of small stories that are based on various writing prompts.
1. Vernal

Prompt: A relationship ends, and another begins.

* * *

Raven stared at the scrappy young girl before her, defiance in blazed in her eyes. A steak knife clutched tightly in her shaking hands.

"Go away!" the girl screamed. "This is my home!"

 _Her home?_ Raven stared at the house the girl was defending was destroyed, as was the rest of her village. Destroyed by Grimm the previous week.

"You're home?" Raven scoffed. "You've nothing, so just let us pass and take what supplies are left. Or you will be cut down."

"No!" The girl raged waving the knife erratically. "I won't lose anything else!"

"Very well." Raven smirked, this girl showed spunk at least, a shame to waste potential. "Vernal!"

"Ye-Yes miss?" A small, meek young woman to her left flinched at her shout.

"Take care of her." Raven pointed at the knife-wielding girl.

"What?" Vernal a shocked look came over her face. "She's just a child!"

"And?" Raven's eyes narrowed. "She is still an obstacle in our way, cut her down."

"Okay." Vernal nodded, she began to walk to the ragged looking girl. With trembling hands, she drew her weapon a crude axe. "St-stand aside!" she 'commanded'.

 _Pathetic…_ Raven thought. _This is supposed to be the spring maiden. She could destroy this entire village herself and yet she's afraid of a girl half her age._

"Never!" The girl pointed the knife at Vernal. "This is my home!" the girl charged at Vernal.

"Please don't do this!" Vernal raised her axe to defend.

 _The girl's form is terrible, but she's tenacious._ Raven thought.

The girl lunged lashing out with her knife. Vernal made a weak attempt to parry; the knife made its way past Vernal's defense and the blade cut into her arm causing her to drop the axe.

"Ahh!" Vernal gripped her arm in pain.

"What are you doing!?" Raven snapped. "Use your aura! Your power!"

"No!" Vernal cried. She turned towards Raven tears streaming down her face. "Can't we just ignore it this one time."

"Vernal to me." Raven commanded.

Vernal slowly walked towards her leader.

"Yes Raven." Vernal whimpered.

"What have I taught you?" Raven placed a hand on Vernal's shoulder.

"The strong survive the weak die." Vernal repeated, it was a mantra that had been drilled into her head.

"Correct." Raven nodded. "So why are you letting this girl beat you, aren't you stronger than her?"

"She's a child...she doesn't deserve this." Raven stared into Vernal's tear-filled eyes.

 _Weak...she won't survive in this world, she doesn't deserve the power granted to her._

"Vernal you disappoint me." Raven drew her sword. "I'll take care of it." The tribe leader strode past Vernal. Turning on her heels she plunged her sword in Vernal's back.

"W-hy?" Vernal gasped blood trickled from her mouth.

"Mercy." Raven whispered removing her sword. Vernal fell to the ground, her blood soaking into the soil. Raven could already feel the maiden's power flowing into her. With a solemn sigh, she turned around and strode towards the knife-wielding girl.

"Get back!" she shakily brandished the knife at Raven.

"Child...you've survived a week on your own in this destroyed town." Raven knelt down in front of her. "And just now you've proven your will to survive was greater than one of my stronger tribemates. If you stay here your life will be short and wasted." Raven extended her hand towards the girl. "But if you join us, join me. I will make you so strong that this will never happen again."

The young girl's eyes flickered, going from her knife to the destroyed home behind her and to Raven's hand. She dropped the knife and ran into Raven's awaiting arms.

"Welcome." Raven wrapped her arms around her in an embrace. "From this day forward you will be a part of the Branwen tribe. Who you were in the past doesn't matter, forget who you were and be reborn anew."

The girl could only silently nod.

Raven let her go and placed her hand on the girl's head.

"Now let's go...Vernal."

* * *

Entry for July 2018 in the Discord Server Work In Progress


	2. Like Clockwork

Prompt: A scene from a minor character's perspective

* * *

"The next match will be Penny Polendina of Atlas VS Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon!"

Professor Port's voice boomed throughout the Vytal arena.

Ciel Solei sat her legs crossed, and her posture perfect. She watched as her partner Penny took the stage.

 _Arrival time, fifteen seconds after being called. Perfect punctuality._ Ciel thought proud of her teammate. Since being made the leader of Team CPPR she had worked her hardest to turn her team into a finely tuned machine.

Was it so wrong to want order and stability in their lives? But no, her classmates did nothing but tease her.

" _Oh look, same food, same drink the same everything." Neon had mocked her back at the academy. "Isn't that just like Clockwork."_

 _Clockwork._ Ciel hated that name, just because she was strict her classmates treated her like she was some kind of machine…

But that didn't matter she shook her head. What mattered right now was Penny.

Her partner had a friendly smile on her face as she waved at her opponent. Pyrrha Nikos…

The four-time Mistral Regional Champion. The Mistralian Native was considered a shoe-in to win this year. But Ciel was sure that Pyrrha would meet her match in Penny.

Ciel wasn't one to be easily impressed but Penny; she was something else. She was born to fight.

A ghost of a smile formed on her face.

"She was combat ready." she whispered.

The fight began, and her partner let out a flurry of dancing swords. Even after all this time, Penny was just as breathtaking to watch as her first time witnessing it. An unstoppable whirlwind of blades and lasers.

Ciel's eyes narrowed. Pyrrha Nikos was defending valiantly, however…

"Her head isn't in the fight at all." She muttered under her breath. The Mistrali girl, a veritable combat veteran was only barely deflecting Penny's strikes.

It couldn't be, could it?

The Invincible Girl was finally breaking. Ciel had no idea what could cause such a paragon of martial prowess to lose her nerve, but she could see plain as day the panic and uncertainty in Pyrrha's eyes.

Penny raised her hands over her head. Her many swords poised to strike.

"This is where it ends." Ciel sighed. While happy that her partner was about to take the victory for Atlas, she had hoped it would be a more even match. Some would cry foul that Nikos wasn't at the top of her game. But that was what happened when you let emotions get the better of you.

With a wave of her arms, Penny's swords flew towards her target.

Fear...pure unbridled fear filled Pyrrha's eyes. She waved her arms, sending out some kind of shockwave sending Penny's swords back at her.

Her partner gripped her chest in pain.

"Penny!" Ciel stood from her seat. Something was wrong. What kind of attack had Nikos even unleashed? A moment later the wires that controlled her partner's swords wrapped around their wielder entangling her. _She's about to become trapped by her own weapon. She has to act before._

The sickening sound of tearing metal filled the nearly silent Coliseum. Where was the sound even coming from?

The answer soon came as she watched in horror as the wire dug deeply into Penny, the aura that should have defended her failed to activate. With another metallic rip, her partner's body was torn to shreds before her.

Ciel stood frozen. Penny...her partner had just been dismembered...how had this happened, why had this happened?

Why was there no blood?

Millions of questions and more raced through her mind. And her analytical nature provided no answers.

So she did the only thing she could.

Ciel Solei fell to her knees and wept.

She had broken down completely.

Like Clockwork.


End file.
